Carmel freeskier Brita Sigourney qualifies for Sochi Games in halfpipe

Freeskier Brita Sigourney of Carmel became the second U.S. woman to secure an Olympic halfpipe berth Friday night at the Visa U.S. Grand Prix in Park City, Utah, on a day Maddie Bowman of South Lake Tahoe won.

Sigourney, a former UC Davis water polo player, finished ninth to join Bowman on the team headed to Sochi.

Bowman, an X-Games star, will be one of the favorites in Sochi, Russia.

"I'm happy to keep the ball rolling," Bowman said in a statement. "I am happy to be here and just ski. I think my biggest focus was to try more stuff, push it a little bit harder and risk a little more."

Americans Julia Krass and Keri Hermans went first and second, respectively, in the final freeskiing slopestyle qualifier Saturday morning at Park City.

In skicross, Mammoth's John Teller all but secured an Olympic spot by winning the final qualifier in Val Thorens, France. Team nominations are expected to be announced Tuesday.

"I have had a tough year so far but am beyond happy to start the middle of my season this way," Teller said in a statement. "I feel that I have just hit my stride and am ramping up for February.

Olympic gold medalist Bode Miller finished fifth Saturday, .35 of a second behind Swiss winner Patrick Kueng in a wind-shortened World Cup downhill at Lauberhorn in Switzerland. Officials lowered the start because of high winds, cutting more than a full minute from the course.

The women's downhill in Cortina, Italy, was moved to Sunday because of poor weather.

"It was close to being good enough, but it wouldn't have been a fair race," Mammoth Lakes' Stacey Cook said in a statement. "It was on a lot of minds not to risk something happening so close to the Olympics. For the whole field and especially the later runners, the snow would not have held up."

Cook was one of three athlete representatives to help determine whether to postpone the race Saturday. She and Squaw Valley's Julia Mancuso are looking to regroup before the Sochi Games after a rough season in the speed events.

In Igls, Austria, Olympic champion Steve Holcomb scored a big World Cup victory Saturday in the two-man boblsed -- his first gold medal outside of North America in four years. He and partner Steve Langton set the course record. Monterey pilot Nick Cunningham and Belmont's Andreas Drbal finished 15th in the final race before Olympic nominations. It was the first time the Bay Area sledders joined forces. Once ranked second in the world, Cunningham is now third among American drivers. Cory Butner with brakeman Chuck Berkeley of Walnut Creek tied for ninth.

The U.S. team will try to earn a third Olympic spot in the four-man competition Sunday but it will take a big effort by Cunningham and Butner to overcome the Russians.

Also on the 1976 Olympic track in Igls, all three U.S. men's skeleton competitors finished with a top-10 result in the final World Cup race and were named to the Olympic team. John Daly of New York, Matt Antoine of Wisconsin and Kyle Tress of New Jersey went 5-6-8, respectively. U.S. officials also named Noelle Pikus-Pace of Utah and Katie Uhlaender of Colorado to the women's team.

In luge World Cup racing in Altenberg, Germany, Chris Mazdzer led the United States placing ninth in men's singles, while teammates Christian Niccum and Jayson Terdiman got 11th place in the doubles race. Matt Mortensen and Preston Griffall were 16th in doubles.

In Poland, Kikkan Randall of Alaska won a World Cup cross-country freestyle sprint for the second consecutive week.